World Court Orders Halt To Japan’s Scientific Whaling
The International Court of Justice has ordered Japan to temporarily halt its whaling activities in the Antarctic “with immediate effect” after concluding that the hunts were not for scientific research purposes as claimed.
The UN court’s decision, by a 12-4 majority among a panel of judges, cast doubts over Japan’s controversial whaling program. It also marks the victory of the Australian government by ending the four-year long campaign to ban commercial whaling which japan had been carrying out under the guise of scientific research.
In its 2010 application to the court, Australia accused Japan of failing to “observe in good faith the zero catch limit in relation to the killing of whales”. Under the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 ban on commercial whaling, Japan was permitted to kill a certain number of whales every year for what it called scientific research.
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.